Raj held, MNS vandalises Maharashtra

ET Bureau|

Oct 22, 2008, 04.05 AM IST

0Comments

MUMBAI: MNS leader Raj Thackeray, who had been spearheading a violent Marathi chauvanistic agitation for political gains, was arrested by the Mumbai police early Tuesday morning, the same day police revealed that one of the victims of MNS attack, Pawan Mahato from Bihar���s Nalanda district, had died.

Having faced severe criticism for being ���passive��� in handling the MNS agitation, the Mumbai police swooped down on Raj at a government guest house in Ratnagiri district at about 3 am on Tuesday. A special team of police officials was despatched to pin down Raj, who was on a week-long tour of the state.

A case was registered against him and MNS activists for attack on north Indian candidates appearing for a recruitment exam conducted by the railways in suburban Kherwadi, city police commissioner Hasan Gaffoor said. Mr Thackeray has been charged under Sections 153, 353 336, 425 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code.

Arrest of its leaders was the signal MNS cadre was waiting for. It went beserk destroying public property in different cities. The general public had no clue as to what was in store for them.

It was like any other working day for lakhs of office, school and college goers in Maharashtra. But as news of Mr Thackeray���s arrest trickled in, fear and anxiety filled the air, sending the state into bandh mode.

Many were injured in indiscriminate incidents of stone pelting and arson all over the state. Fearing violence, many schools and colleges stayed shut and in all the cities, roads were deserted.

In Mumbai, many MNS activists squatted on the busy Western Express Highway, causing traffic jams. They also pelted stones at vehicles, causing panic-stricken commuters to flee.

Although Mumbai���s lifeline suburban trains on the western and central railways and the harbour line functioned as usual, compartments were unusually empty. In a few areas, public transport just stayed off the roads, inconveniencing people. Police were forced to fire tear gas shells in many places to control rampaging MNS activists.

According to city police control data, 38 BEST buses were set on fire. The protesters damaged 40 private buses, 350 taxis, six AC cabs and torched 60 auto rickshaws. One police van too was gutted on the western express highway.

Anticipating large-scale protests, the state home ministry deployed heavy bandobast in many areas. Around 20,000 policemen, including state reserve police force and CRPF personnel have been brought into service across the city following incidents of stone pelting and violence. The intensity of violence was more in the suburbs of Mulund, Thane, Parel, Tardeo, Malad, Borivali and in Navi Mumbai.

Police had to cane charge hundreds of MNS activists outside the Bandra court to disperse the crowd which was protesting the arrest of the MNS chief. Several Samajwadi Party workers too turned up outside the court, shouting slogans against Raj and supporting action against him. But police cordoned them off from MNS workers to prevent any untoward incident.

Trying to put up a brave face, the state���s police head A N Roy claimed that the police can easily deal with the situation. ���We were anticipating a violent reaction after Raj���s arrest... We carried out a large number of preventive arrests, and have arrested around 1,900 persons. People need not worry,��� Mr Roy said.

He also made it clear that Raj���s arrest was in connection with the attack on railway board examination centres and had nothing to do with the warrant issued by Jamshedpur court against him for alleged anti-Bihari statements. A court in Jharkhand has issued a non-bailable warrant against Raj on a complaint filed in February this year.

The electronic media, chasing the police team, did its bit to by airing live footage of Mr Thackeray being brought to Mumbai in a convoy of about 50 cars. This created a fear spiral in Mumbai. The thought of violence and riots prompted large parts of the state to shut down as Mr Thackeray���s supporters went on a rampage, torching public transport and telling office-goers to return home.